Hugh Williams looks at what crafts and craftspeople can bring to an increasingly wired-up society.

As Jan and Anneke van Nouhuys from the Netherlands approach their silver wedding they tell Kenneth Noble about the highs and lows of Jan's calling to be a silversmith.

Veteran potter David Leach believes art is about transcendental values. He talks to Mary Lean and Anastasia Stepanova.

Russian essayist and philosopher Grigory Pomerants found his voice in a Soviet prison camp. He talks to Peter Thwaites

Dr Cornelio Sommaruga was President of the International Committee of the Red Cross from 1987 to 1999. He is now President of the Swiss Foundation for Moral Re-Armament. This article is extracted from a talk he gave during a visit to Britain last January.

Tony Reynolds was a high flier until a change of motive led his career into a seeming backwater. But, as he tells Paul Williams, there were unexpected spin-offs.

The Open House centre for Jewish-Arab reconciliation in Ramle, Israel, was established 10 years ago to help heal the deep emotional wounds and distrust among Jews and Arabs. The house was originally the home of a Palestianian family, then of a Jewish family, but it now brings Jewish and Arab children and their parents together to help them understand one another.

Since we last wrote about Walkerswood, Jamaica, in 1994, its cottage industry has burgeoned into a company with a £2 million turnover. Mary Lean reports, and (below) visits its London showcase, Bamboula restaurant in Brixton.